Calamity
by Rumbleroar13
Summary: Scarlett and Todd are suddenly thrown into the world of the Avengers with no memory of their lives with the Transformers. As a thirteen year old Scarlett roams the streets of New York, homeless and hungry with Todd, they're approached by Phil Coulson about the Avengers Initiative. After much persuasion, they agree to come to SHIELD to help find the Tesseract that has been stolen by
1. Chapter 1

Scarlett was idly wandering the halls of NEST. There was nothing to do at the moment, Todd had gone to see Sam and Mikaela with Sharpie. Her Dad and Ratchet had gone to retrieve Sentinel Prime from the Ark and everyone was either bored out of their minds or pointlessly fixing their weapons. It was a pretty dull atmosphere at the moment. Deciding to go and find Bumblebee, Scarlett started walking towards the main hangar when a bright light suddenly surrounded her. She gasped in shock and then fell down. Rather than falling onto a hard floor, she fell onto a comfy, plush white sofa.

"Scarlett?" The girl whipped her head in the direction the voice came from and saw Todd on his back looking just as shocked as she felt.

"Todd?"

"What the hell just happened?" They asked in unison. The two of them sat up and looked around the room they'd appeared in; Everything was white. The walls, the carpet, the furniture. It was almost blinding. Apart from the colour, it looked like a regular living room but there were no doors and no windows. It was a room with no way out.

"Where are we?" Todd whispered, feeling uneasy. One minute he was with Sam at his work and the next thing he knew he was being surrounded by a bright light and landed on the sofa next to Scarlett.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling." Scarlett replied, eyeing everything suspiciously.

"Hi!" A voice suddenly exclaimed causing the companions to yell in shock. "Okay, calm down." The two were looking around wildly for the source of the voice but were too frantic to realise it was the TV. "Hey! Look at the TV!" Todd and Scarlett did as the voice said and looked at the TV. On it they saw a teenage girl with dark skin, long black hair with red tints and dark brown eyes. She grinned brightly at them and waved.

"Who are you?" Scarlett inquired, narrowing her violet eyes at the girl on the screen.

"I'm Mia Zabini, your creator." The girl replied causing the Autobot and the fox to frown.

"I'm sorry? You're our what?" Todd asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I'm your creator. You see, you're characters in books. My books to be exact." Mia said, still smiling.

"There's clearly been a mistake, we aren't characters," Scarlett said, gesturing between herself and Todd who nodded in agreement. "we're real."

Mia pondered for a moment before smirking slightly. "I suppose that's somewhat true. You're real in the stories that I've written. You're pretty popular, actually." she said.

"I still don't understand. How can we be characters in stories, everything is so real to us?" Todd asked.

"Well...that's why you're here. You see, there are various other versions of you two that exist in alternate universes. Mostly because I've made stories with you in them. You have different lives in all these universes and you're completely oblivious to the fact that there are different versions of you." Mia explained causing Scarlett and Todd to gape at her.

"How many different versions of us are there?" Scarlett asked despite not really wanting to know the answer.

"Well so far, there's about eleven, including this you." Mia replied and both Todd and Scarlett's faces dropped.

"Is that all we are then; Characters? There's nothing unique or special about us?" Todd muttered, his head lowering. Mia's eyes immediately widened when she realised what they thought.

"No, no! Gosh no! You're much more than just characters. I mean, you were just ideas swimming around my head at one time and now I literally cannot write something without you in it. As stupid as is sounds, my life basically revolves around you two and it all started with you, this you." Mia told them and they frowned, not understanding. "You two are the first Scarlett and Todd that I created and my favourite by far. Every version of you are special and unique in their own way and you're no different. For example, this version of you is reckless and outgoing but the next version is more withdrawn and less confident than yourselves."

"We seem to mean a lot to you." Scarlett commented and Mia's lips pulled into a smile.

"Yeah...you could say that." she said and Scarlett tilted her head.

"Why is that?"

"Well...I have a pretty boring life, nothing exciting ever happens to me but whenever I watched a film that was full of action and excitement, I always want to write about it but I never found any inspiration in some of the characters I created until I decided that you would be the perfect ones to write about. You became more than just ideas, you became real to me and I enjoyed writing about you. Thankfully, people enjoyed reading about you too." Mia told them and their eyes widened.

"People read about us?" Todd breathed out and Mia nodded. "Wow...But can I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Why are we here? Do we get to go back home or are we stuck here?" he asked.

"Ah, good question." Mia said, nodding. A stack of books suddenly appeared on the table in front of them. "On the table are all of the books which you feature in. Some of them I haven't even written yet so even I don't know what they contain. For my own amusement, I've decided to bring original you here to read or watch other versions of you. Although my books haven't been made into films, what you'll see are just how I pictured you. As for if you'll go home, yes you will. This room is something of my own creation: While you're here, time has stopped completely where you've come from so when you go back, you'll be transported back to the exact time that you left. Also, you won't remember anything that happened here."

"Okay, I'll admit, that's pretty cool." Scarlett stated, smirking slightly which Mia matched.

"I try, you know. Anyways, if you pick up the first book, it'll tell you where the next version of you will appear." Mia instructed. Scarlett did as she was asked and picked up the first book. On the cover were nine people. Well, seven people, a fox and a big green guy. They were in the middle of what looked like a destroyed city. At the bottom of the cover in large, silver letters was the word 'AVENGERS'

"No way...We're in the Avengers?" Todd asked excitedly. Mia laughed lightly and nodded. The two companions looked back at the cover and realised that they were on the cover. Scarlett was stood on top of an overturned car with her hands encompassed by flames. Todd was in his fox form stood on some rubble looking pretty ferocious. "We look pretty damn cool!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Scarlett exclaimed, high-fiving Todd's paw before grinning at Mia. "When do we get to read it?"

Before Mia could reply, bright lights surrounded the two once again but instead of transporting away, they're appearances changed slightly. When the light faded, in their places were younger versions of Scarlett and Todd. Scarlett looked fourteen again and Todd was smaller, almost the size of a pup. The two looked at each other in shock before they both looked at Mia who was grinning mischievously.

"What just happened?" Todd squeaked.

"I may have lied a little. Rather than reading your stories, I just decided that you'll become the alternate versions of yourselves and live in that world as those versions until the end of the book." Mia told them cheerfully causing them to gape at her once more.

"Are you crazy?" Scarlett shouted.

"Yeah, a little bit." Mia replied. Scarlett huffed and folded her arms. "To be honest, you wont remember any of this once you're there. It'll still be you...kind of."

"Once this book is finished, will we be able to return back to where we came from?" Todd piped up causing Scarlett to look at him like he was crazy.

"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, once you've finished here, you can go back to your original universe." Mia said, sincerity in her voice.

"That's enough for me, when can we go?" Todd stated. Scarlett looked at him incredulously.

"Are you serious? Why would you want to go to some alternate universe?" she cried.

"Because it's the Avengers." Todd said in a 'Duh' voice.

"I know that!" Scarlett snapped. "What about the other versions of us, won't they find it a little bit weird if copies of them suddenly turn up?"

"Actually, the other versions of you will be in the future when you arrive. You'll literally become them but you wont remember what I'm telling you now. You'll just know the life you're living when you arrive." Mia told them. Scarlett gave both Mia and Todd an irritated look before she sighed.

"Fine...but this better be good." she grumbled. Todd cheered while Mia grinned.

"Oh, believe me, it will be." Mia said before clearing her throat. "Alright, if you open the book to page 4, you'll be taken into the story."

Scarlett took a deep breath and opened the book to page 4. On the clear page was a drawing of Scarlett and Todd. Both looked pretty rough but looked determined. Scarlett was crouched down on what appeared to be the top of a building, she was looking down at something while Todd sat on her shoulder, looking down also.

"What are we doing?" asked Todd. Mia grinned widely.

"You'll see." she said before waving. "Have a good time!" As soon as she said that, the book started to shake in Scarlett's hands causing her to drop it. She and Todd looked down at it curiously when a golden light shone from the very pages. As if ropes had wrapped around their bodies, they seemed to be dragged towards the book. They struggled and desperately tried to get away but the book was literally sucking them in. The light in the book grew and looked like a black hole, it grew and it grew until it was bigger than Scarlett. The two of them screamed as they were thrown right into it and disappeared from sight. The black hole shrunk and the light disappeared as the book closed. Mia looked at the book, a small frown on her face.

"Maybe I should make that less terrifying. The black hole's a little much." she muttered before the screen went black leaving the room silent.


	2. Chapter 2

**MAY 2nd, 2012**

"Todd, come on!" A girl whispered as she walked through the streets of New York City.

She looked to be no younger than fourteen. Her hair was jet black and her skin lightly tanned. She wasn't very tall either, barely reaching the shoulders of some adults and tall teenagers. Those walking through the street were giving her either snide or sympathetic looks as she passed them; they were in disbelief at her dishevelled appearance. Her hair was messy and knotted while her baggy clothes were ripped and dirty. And yet, despite that, her deep violet eyes shone brightly. At her heels was a midnight black fox with fiery orange eyes. The tips of his ears and tail were white and he reached the middle of the girl's calf in height.

The two slipped into a alleyway and the girl crouched down to the fox. "Alright Todd, you know the plan right?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yes. I turn into a cute little puppy dog, get the stall holders attention while you get the food. Believe me, I'm that hungry, I remember every word of the plan." he muttered. The girl jokingly rolled her eyes before ruffling Todd's fur and standing back up. Todd's body began to shrink as he morphed into a small labrador puppy. He ran out of the alleyway and towards a stall selling hot dogs. Several people were surrounding it as the girl approached it, the vendor was handing out the hot dogs as the people paid. Todd sat down a few feet away before barking, catching everyone's attention.

"Mom, look! It's a puppy!" A young child exclaimed, pointing at Todd who continued to bark before he rolled over and put a paw over his face.

"Hey there, Buddy." The vendor said as he went over to Todd. "What's a guy like you doing out here all alone?" Todd yipped and gave a subtle nod at the girl, Scarlett, as the other people around the stall went over to look at Todd. The girl stepped up to the stall and started grabbing as many hot dogs as she could. She threw them all and some bread buns into a plastic bag on the stall before running off. Todd immediately followed leaving the people confused. The vendor looked back at his stall and saw the majority of his food gone, he looked at the girl's retreating back and his face went bright red with anger.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!" he yelled. The girl kept running until she reached an alleyway. She transformed into an eagle and grabbed the bag of food in her claws and flew up to the top of the tall building and landed on the roof. Todd appeared soon after and transformed back into a fox.

"Food! Scarlett, you are a goddess." Todd said, stuffing his head into the bag and sniffing all the food. Scarlett transformed back into a human and picked up the bag.

"Tell me something I don't know." she laughed, sitting at the edge of the building. She opened the bag and threw a hot dog at Todd who caught it in his mouth and practically swallowed it whole. She grabbed one herself and started eating happily, finally glad to have a meal after a few days. The two sat there, eating silently as they looked out at the city. This was how the two had been living for the last two years, stealing food and money from people so they could get a decent meal. They used to have a place to stay but the two opted to leave as it wasn't a lifestyle they wanted for themselves, though how they were now wasn't much better. The only thing that made them feel more at ease about everything was the fact that they were with each other; It was a firm belief of theirs that if they were together, nothing could ever, ever harm them.

"Scarlett..." Todd whispered, lying his head on her knees. The teenager looked down at her friend and smiled, stroking the top of his head.

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever want to go back?" he asked her. She was silent for a moment, thinking over her answer before replying.

"Everyday. But that was no life for us, Todd. We may be able to do things that others can't but we weren't made to do that." she told him. "Though, I do miss everyone."

"We won't be living like this forever, Scar. I promise." Todd muttered before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Scarlett continued to stroke Todd's fur and looked out at the now darkening sky. This was what she loved most, looking at the brightly lit city in the complete darkness. It looked so magical to her. Of course, it was just a silly, childish view but it was something that took away her stress. Though there was something else that fascinated her at night; Iron Man. Every single night she would see the red and gold suit shooting through the darkness. The unmistakable sound of the thrusters would instantly get her excited, making Todd roll his eyes. But Iron Man was somewhat of an idol to her, she imagined he'd be so kind and generous in person and it was her dream to meet him, or at least see him in the street without his suit. Tony Stark was just as impressive, whether he was Iron Man or not.

After sitting on the roof, gazing at the city for over an hour, night had fallen and the bright lights Scarlett had been waiting for were finally able to be seen. They reflected in her eyes as they flicked from building to building before they locked onto the centre piece, 'Stark Tower'. For some odd reason, though, none of the lights were on. Scarlett found this incredibly odd as Stark Tower was the one building that shone the brightest.

"You okay there, Scar?" Todd asked, opening his eyes, seeing his companion looking confused.

"Stark Tower's lights aren't on." she said, crouching down at the ledge of the building. Todd jumped onto her shoulder and looked at Stark Tower and hummed.

"Oh yeah! Weird. Stark's usually got his lights on all the time." he said. Scarlett tilted her head at the building before transforming into a bird and flying closer. She landed on the roof of one of the buildings and transformed back. Then she heard it. That unmistakable sound. The thrusters. She whipped her head in the direction she heard it coming from and gasped when she saw Iron Man flying straight towards her.

"Give me a sec, Pepper." A voice from within the suit said before landing on the roof Scarlett was stood on making her stumble backwards and fall. His mask lifted up revealing the ruggedly handsome face of Tony Stark. "What are you doing up here, kid?" he asked Scarlett who simply gaped at him. "Are you star gazing?" No reply. "Had a fight with mom and dad? Come to clear your head?" Scarlett blinked at him, unable to believe he was actually in front of her. "Nothing? Really? Aish, kids these days." Tony muttered to himself.

"Oh my god." Scarlett muttered. Todd suddenly appeared next to Scarlett, looking up at Tony wearily.

"A fox, huh? Never seen one of those in person." Tony said, looking at Todd who narrowed his eyes. Tony shrugged and looked back at Scarlett. "Listen kid, I'm on a really tight schedule. I've got to light up my tower where my lady is waiting with some champagne. So, why don't we hurry this up so I can get home, okay?" Scarlett nodded. "Good, a response. So, why are you on the roof?" he asked.

"I-I- um, I just came to look at the city." Scarlett stuttered. Tony cocked an eyebrow and looked around.

"But how did you get up here? There's no hatch that you could've come through."

"Let's just get out of here before we get into trouble." Todd whispered, jumping onto Scarlett's shoulder. She looked between Todd and Tony before backing towards the ledge.

"Hey! Stop!" Tony shouted as Scarlett fell. She instantly transformed into a bird, as did Todd, and the two flew off. Tony ran to the ledge and looked around, desperately trying to see if he could spot the girl, but he saw nothing. Not even the fox. Sighing, he put his mask down and started to hover off the ground. "Alright, light her up." he said to Pepper. And almost instantly, the lights from the bottom of Stark Tower started to turn on. Then the 'STARK' printed on the tower lit up, turning a bright, electric blue.

"Wow." Scarlett mumbled as she watched it all happen.

"Are you crazy, Scarlett?" Todd hissed, pacing beside her. They'd flown to a building, far away from where Stark Tower but it could still be clearly seen. "If he'd found out what we were, he could've given us to the Government! To SHIELD! We have to be careful!"

"He wouldn't do that." Scarlett told the fox, frowning. "He's Iron Man, he wouldn't do something like that."

"You don't know him personally, Scarlett!" Todd snapped. "Just because he's Iron Man doesn't mean that he's some angel who wouldn't do a thing wrong! You need to get that stupid fantasy out of your head! I hate to break it to you but not everything is black and white, I thought you got that into your head when we were working for SHIELD!"

Scarlett's face dropped and tears filled her eyes. Todd's expression immediately softened when he saw the effect of his words. "I'm sorry. I-I just...I'm sorry." Scarlett whimpered. Todd padded over to her and pressed his head to her arm.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of snapped at you like that. I just worry, I don't want you to get hurt." he apologised. A tear fell from Scarlett's eye and Todd quickly licked it away making her giggle.

"It's okay. As long as you're not angry at me anymore." she said and Todd shook his head.

"I wasn't. I was just worried." Just as he said that, his stomach rumbled. Scarlett gave him a sympathetic look.

"Come on, we'll find some money and I'll buy some food. There won't be many stalls open now." she said. Todd nodded and the two made their way down to the ground and Scarlett immediately started walking through the street. She used her enhanced eyesight to try and find people either using their wallets and purses or have them in plain sight. Unfortunately, people in New York had grown accustomed to people like Scarlett and protected their money very well. It was just by chance that she was walking down one street when she saw two men walking in the opposite way and the one closest to her put his wallet in his right pocket. Both men looked a bit sketchy but Scarlett was confident she'd get away quick enough.

"Don't you dare." Todd hissed as she walked closer to them but Scarlett ignored him. When she was close enough, Scarlett 'accidentally' bumped into the man, slipped her hand into his pocked and pulled out his wallet and tucked it into her jeans pocket.

"I'm sorry." she said before walking away briskly. The man watched her go and saw her pull out the wallet. His eyes widened and he stuck his hand in his pocket but found his wallet wasn't there. His expression turned furious and he ran after Scarlett, the other man following.

"Run!" Todd exclaimed, seeing the men coming after them. Scarlett did as asked and she sprinted as fast as she could. As she ran, she opened the wallet and pulled out a massive stack of money and threw the wallet away.

"GET BACK HERE!" The man roared. But Scarlett didn't stop. She and Todd practically flew through the streets and were sure they'd gotten away as they turned into an alleyway until Scarlett bumped into a group of tall, scary, jacked up men. A man with a bald head with tattoos covering his face grabbed Scarlett by her shirt and literally threw her against a wall. He grabbed the money from her hand and looked at it with a sneer before slamming it into another man's chest. Todd growled and sunk his teeth and into the man's ankle making him shout out. He grabbed Todd by the scruff of his neck and threw him against the wall before kicking him violently causing him to cry out and whimper.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Scarlett screamed, trying to get to Todd but one of the men pushed her back against the wall and pushed his arm into her neck making her choke a little.

"You think you can steal from us and get away with it?" The man asked. He looked to be in his early thirties with mousy brown hair and several piercings. His breath smelled foul; Like alcohol, cigarettes and got knows what else. "You'll regret that girly."

The man with the tattoos on his face looked at Scarlett and grabbed her neck making the other man let go of her. "What should we do with you then?" he asked to himself. Todd barked viciously despite his injuries. "Shut that thing up would ya!" One of the other men kicked Todd again making him whine.

"I see you got the brat." The man who Scarlett had stolen from said as he and the other man with him walked into the alleyway.

"Yeah, and her pet too." The tattoo man sneered, nodding down to Todd who was now bloody. "You know, if you want to get out of this alive. You just have to do a few things for us."

Scarlett looked at the man in disgust and then spat in his face. "I'd rather die." she hissed. The man wiped her spit off his face before tightening his grip on her neck and punching her in the stomach making her double over. He dropped her to the ground and he and a few other started punching and kicking her but she wouldn't scream. She was biting her lip so hard that blood was seeping into her mouth. The pain was unbearable but she wouldn't be weak for these men. Every kick and punch was excruciating and a burning sensation was beginning to form across her skin.

"Are you not going to cry for us, girly? What about if we hurt your pet?" The tattoo man asked mockingly as he yanked Todd up by the scruff of his neck and threw him down next to her. Scarlett opened her bloody, swollen eyes and looked into Todd's still fiery ones. Blood was seeping from his nose and he has several cuts on his body. The mere sight of him like this made Scarlett's eyes tear up. "Ah, yes. Now we're getting a reaction. I wonder what will happen if we kill it?" The man went to stamp on Todd's head but Scarlett screamed and held out her arm to protect Todd from the blow. However, as her arm flew out, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the men's legs and pulled them down. She began to shake violently and her skin became redder and redder before flames broke out across her skin. Her hair became bright red, as did her eyes.

"What the fuck!" One of the men yelled.

"GO! GET AWAY FROM US!" she screamed. Her voice was deeper and devilish, sending chills down everyone's spine. The vines were released from the men's legs and they all scrambled up and sprinted away. As soon as they were gone, the flames around Scarlett's body died out and she fell to her knees as her hair and eyes went back to normal, the redness fading. She stared at her hands before bursting into tears. Todd dragged himself over to her and nudged himself into her arms.

"It's okay, Scarlett. It's okay. Just calm down." he whispered, licking her face to try and dry her tears but she didn't brighten up. "Come on, calm down."

"I-I-I didn't mean to!" she cried. " I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!"

"I know. I know you didn't. It's okay." Todd said soothingly.

"Scarlett? Todd? Are you two okay?" A voice asked from behind them. Todd looked over Scarlett's shoulder and saw a man clad in a formal suit walking towards them. In his hand was a gun but Todd was frozen, staring at his face.

"Phil?" he whispered.

"Todd! What happened?" he asked, crouching beside them. He placed a hand on Scarlett's shoulder and she went rigid and whipped her head up. The flecks of red were beginning to appear in their eyes but stopped when she realised who it was. "Oh god, what have they done to you Sweetheart?"

Scarlett burst into tears again and flung her arms around Phil's neck. He wrapped one arm around her back and the other under her legs and picked her up. Todd jumped onto Scarlett's stomach and laid down, tucking his head into her neck as Phil walked to a black car. He opened it and slipped inside, placing Scarlett in the seat beside a woman with bright red hair. She was looking at Scarlett, horrified at her appearance.

"What happened to her?" she asked, trying to make Scarlett more comfortable.

"I have no idea." Phil replied, closing the door.

"Is that...?" The driver asked and Phil nodded.

"We need to get her to the hospital. She isn't healing up." he said and the car started moving. "What happened, Todd?" he asked.

"We were hungry and she stole some money from some guy. I guess he called some of his friends and we ended up being beaten in the alleyway." Todd explained making the woman gasp. Phil sighed and brushed some hair out of the girl's face. She was fading in and out of consciousness, the severity of her injuries becoming more apparent. As were Todd's.

"Oh, what've you gotten yourself into."


	3. Chapter 3

**MAY 3rd, 2012**

Scarlett slowly opened her eyes to the sound of steady beeps going off every few moments. She was in a hospital room with tubes sticking out of her arms. Todd was sleeping soundly on a couch by the wall and beside her, in the arm chair, was Phil Coulson. He looked at her with the same worried expression he gave her whenever she and Todd were sent on missions. The fatherly look. She hated it, mostly because it always made her feel like she'd done wrong and worried him. She was both confused and shocked at his presence and was trying to figure why he was there and how she had gotten into the hospital. She couldn't remember much, only fire and pain and blood.

"It's good to see you awake." he said as he helped her sit up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly, looking at him cautiously.

"Well...I was on my way to find you when I saw a gang of men running out of an alleyway looking pretty scared. I thought it was suspicious so I went in and found you and Todd. You were both bleeding and looked pretty bad, so I brought you here." Phil explained. Scarlett rubbed her slightly tender ribs, remembering the hard blows the men had been giving her. "Both of you have healed up but the doctors had to get your energy levels back up first. What I want to know is why they were down in the first place."

Scarlett met Phil's stern gaze and sighed. "We've been living rough since we left SHIELD. We don't have money for food so we steal and we cant always steal so we go without food for a few days.'' she told him, shrugging. Phil's jaw tightened as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Why didn't you come to me for help, Scarlett? You told us you had a place to stay!"

"Honestly Phil, I don't need a lecture." Scarlett muttered, running a hand over her face. "We didn't want to be involved with SHIELD anymore and the only way to stay off the radar was to make sure that no record of us was made. Which meant that I couldn't go to an orphanage or anywhere that would have to have me down on file. And we certainly couldn't stay with you as you're involved with SHIELD."

"Believe me, we know you were keeping off the radar. We couldn't find you for more than a year." Phil told her, calming down a little as he slumped back into his seat.

"You were keeping tabs on us?" Scarlett asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not the only one at SHIELD that cares about you, Scarlett. Remember that." Phil replied, sending her a look. She sighed and sat back against her pillows, looking at the ceiling before she felt something land on her stomach. She looked to see Todd grinning up at her. He looked a lot better than he did last night but he still had blood in his fur.

"Morning!" he greeted brightly.

"Hey." Scarlett replied, stroking his head despite the blood.

"So Phil...I've been listening in for a while now and something I'd like to know is how exactly you found us and why you were looking for us." Todd said, getting straight to the point.

"You may be able to blend in with the crowd but you aren't impossible to find. And I was looking for you because we need your help." Phil told them, becoming more serious.

"'We' being who?" Scarlett questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Phil sighed and looked down, knowing their reaction wasn't going to be great. "...SHIELD."

Instantly, Scarlett started shaking her head, her body becoming tense. "No. Not a chance." she said, giving him a look that told him she wasn't going to give in easily, or at all.

"Listen..."

"No! Have you not been listening? We don't want anything to do with SHIELD. We've moved on. Besides, I'm sure you can find people to do your dirty work for you!" Scarlett exclaimed.

"Barton's been compromised!" Phil told her, stopping her rant.

"What?" Todd asked in shock.

"This isn't just another mission. The world is under threat and we need your help to find the Tesseract. Your tracking skills are unparalleled."

"The Tesseract? You mean you're still playing around with that cube?" Todd questioned and Phil nodded.

"We were. And it brought someone from another world through to ours. He's put Barton and Selvig under some kind of spell and they've gone with him." he explained to them before picking up a black file from the bedside table and handed it to her. She opened it up and found that it was a holographic file. The screen lit up and showed several videos of people fighting. She immediately recognised Iron Man and Captain America and then there was the big, green beast known as The Hulk. She'd seen the man's profile while she was working with SHIELD, she'd also seen Captain America's. They fished the Tesseract out of the ocean when they'd found him, that was probably why he was involved. There was also a blond man that she didn't recognise but the guy seemed powerful and he was dressed like some sort of Viking or something.

"So all of these...people- are coming together to find the Tesseract?" Todd inquired, looking at the screen from Scarlett's shoulder.

"Yes. Dr. Banner has the expertise to be working with the cube, as does Stark." Phil told them. "We need your help in finding it. We wouldn't ask unless it was important."

Todd was silent for a moment before looking at Scarlett, leaning closer to her ear. "Listen Scar, I know you don't want to go back to SHIELD, I don't either. But this seems serious. Really serious." Todd whispered to her as she kept her eyes locked onto the screen. "All we have to do is find the Tesseract and we can go back to normal."

Scarlett thought over Todd's words before looking at Phil. "How long is this going to take?" she asked.

"Until the Cube is found and protected from Loki." At Scarlett's blank look, Phil said, "Loki is the one who has taken it. He's apparently from Asgard, the same place as Thor, the one with the long blond hair and the hammer."

"Alright...We'll help you find this thing. But we'll be gone once we've found it." Scarlett said, her tone and expression firm. Phil smiled a little and nodded thankfully.

"Good. Thank you. I'm taking Steve Rogers to the Hellicarrier today, you can come with us. They've started the search already so hopefully they will have found some leads by the time we arrive." he said, standing. "I'll send in a nurse so you can get ready and we can get going. We're on a tight schedule as it is."

Phil was about to leave the room when Scarlett stopped him. "How exactly did the doctors treat me? You know as well as I do that my DNA is different. How couldn't they have noticed? And Todd's here, it would all be a little odd, don't you think?" she asked and Phil smiled at her.

"Have you honestly forgotten that SHIELD has links everywhere?" he laughed before pulling something out of his pocket and throwing it to her. She caught it and looked it over. Instantly, she recognised it as her old SHIELD badge. It was something she'd treasured throughout her time there, it was quite hard for her to leave it behind when she and Todd decided to stop working for SHIELD. "I thought you might like it back. You were quite fond of it." Phil said before leaving the room.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Todd muttered.

"I just hope we can get this over and done with as soon as possible." Scarlett said as she shut down the file and put it on her bedside table. The nurse came in soon after and took the tubes out of her arm and showed her and Todd to the bathroom where they cleaned up, Scarlett washing Todd's fur. Now that her energy levels were up, Scarlett was able to do things she couldn't before; Like create a decent outfit to wear. She fixed her badge onto her belt before leaving the bathroom with a clean and dry Todd at her heels. Phil helped sign her out before they were in a black car and being driven to some secret location where a Quinjet was waiting. When they were onboard, they found Steve Rogers looking around the plane in both amazement and discomfort. When the soldier saw them, he stood up and held his hand out to Coulson who shook his hand.

"Welcome onboard, Captain." he said before turning to Scarlett and Todd. "This is Scarlett and Todd, they'll be helping to find the Cube." Steve looked at them curiously and cocked an eyebrow but said nothing and simply nodded in greeting. Scarlett and Todd replied with a nod before sitting in one of the seats, Scarlett put her feet up on the seat opposite and Todd sat on her legs. Steve also sat down, looking at the teenager and the fox oddly while Phil went to tell the pilots that they could go.

The flight was mostly quiet with Scarlett and Todd talking amongst themselves, Phil checking the updates on the Cube and Steve was looking over all the files on a tablet. When he wasn't looking, Scarlett took the time to study the soldier; he looked to be in his mid or late twenties. His hair was combed to perfection and not a strand was out of place. He was dressed in trousers and a brown and cream plaid shirt with a brown leather jacket over the top. He certainly dressed like he was from a different time. And, of course, he was from a different time. Scarlett could admit that Captain Rogers was definitely handsome, no doubt he has been overwhelmed by the amount of women that probably thrown themselves at him. He was probably one of very few people that she felt pity for; the man had crashed into the ocean, thinking he was going to die but ended up waking up in a completely different time, completely confused with everyone that he knew either dead or aged. It must be hard for him, to adapt to this completely new world. God knows even she found it hard to cope sometimes!

"We're about forty minutes out from home base, sir." One of the pilots announced. Phil nodded and took his headset off, standing up and walking over to Steve.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?" Steve asked, watching the footage of the Hulk.

"A lot of people were." Phil replied, holding onto the handle above his head. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

"Didn't really go his way, did it?" Steve commented as the Hulk roared on the video. Scarlett snorted.

"You can say that again." she muttered. Phil shook his head in amusement at her before looking back at Steve.

"When he's not that, though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." he told him. Steve gave him a blank look making Todd snicker. "He's like a...smart person." Steve nodded despite still being confused and looked back at the tablet. "I gotta say, it's an honour to meet you- officially." Steve smiled at the compliment while Scarlett and Todd watched on in amusement. For all the time they'd know Phil Coulson, one of the things that he was most passionate about was Captain America; He was pretty much obsessed with him. He had trading cards, posters, collectables. It was pretty funny but who could blame him for his obsession? Like he'd said, Captain America was the very first superhero.

"I sort of met you." Phil said, explaining his previous statement. "I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Scarlett covered her mouth to hold in her laugh at how creepy that sounded. It seemed that Steve thought the same as his face dropped a little. "I mean, I was- I was present. While you were unconscious. From the- ice." Steve stood up and walked over to the cockpit, watching them fly over the ocean. Phil followed and stood beside him. "You know, it's really just a huge honour to have you on board."

"Well, I hope I'm the man of the job." Steve said, still looking out at the water.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely." Phil said, nodding. "We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input. We modified yours too, Scarlett." Phil told the two of them. Scarlett cocked an eyebrow hearing her uniform had been modified. Like her badge, she'd treasured her uniform when she worked at SHIELD. She could hide behind it. When she put the suit on it was like she was a completely different person, she could be the assassin that SHIELD wanted her to be. Not just some kid.

"The uniform?" Steve asked, frowning. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little...old-fashioned?"

"With everything that's happening, and the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned." Phil told him. Steve thought over his words before going to sit back down. They were all silent before Steve looked over at Scarlett and Todd.

"So...what do you specialise in?" he asked casually.

"We're trackers. Hopefully, once we catch the scent of the Tesseract, we should be able to find it." Scarlett replied.

"You look very...young- to be working with SHIELD." The super soldier commented and Todd laughed a little while Scarlett smirked.

"We think so too." said Todd causing Steve's eyes to widen. "Bet you weren't expecting a talking fox." Todd laughed while Scarlett grinned.

Steve stared between the two of them, trying to figure out what they were. "I don't remember reading about you in SHIELD's files..."

Phil folded his arms and gave Scarlett and Todd a look as they sat smugly. "That's because they erased all their files when they stopped working for us."

Steve looked at Phil incredulously, his mouth agape. "You don't mean to say that they were actually spies for SHIELD?"

"Being a kid and an animal has its perks when being an assassin apparently." Scarlett commented as she looked at him, sighing. "We aren't proud of it but it was either that or we were killed."

Phil gave them both a sad look while Steve was looking between the three of them in utter disbelief. "Assassins? Why on Earth would SHIELD allow that? You're only children!" he exclaimed, unable to comprehend that the girl and the fox in front of him had killed people for a living.

Scarlett shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it anymore as she sat back in her seat and stroked Todd's fur who curled up on her stomach. Instead, Phil replied. "They easily blended into the crowd. And no one expects a child or a fox to kill you."

After that, the rest of the journey to the Hellicarrier was silent. Scarlett and Todd were sat, tense as they recalled all of the terrible things they'd done at SHIELD, only feeling worse every time Steve looked over at them and stared for a few moments before shaking his head and looking away. They knew that they were monsters, that was the whole reason why they were made SHIELD Agents in the beginning; They were thought of as too dangerous to allow into the world and they were going to be killed when Fury stepped in and suggested that they should be trained to be agents as they could be useful in the field. The Council had agreed and the two were kept in confinement for at least a month before their training began.

As much as their job was horrific, it had also saved their lives but as they got older, they became less grateful. Being designed to be killing machines wasn't exactly something they prided themselves in, they hated what they could do as it never brought any good. There was nothing good about death, no matter who it was, it just gave them a guilty conscience and a lot of sleepless nights. Scarlett and Todd may have been good at their jobs but they were still kids who had missed out on a childhood and craved the little things like love and security which they only really got from Phil or Clint. But as much as they craved the childish things, it was also burdensome when they were on a mission as they knew they would be mourned if they were killed. It also meant that it became extremely difficult to leave SHIELD when there were people who cared about them there. Todd supposed that was probably the main reason why they had decided to help find the Cube...Because Clint was family.

"Sir, we've reached Home Base." One of the pilots announced as they flew over the Hellicarrier and landed on the runway. Instantly, Scarlett and Todd came alive and sat up straight. Steve looked at them briefly before standing with the two. The hold of the jet opened and Scarlett and Todd instantly got off and looked around at all the other jets and the people working and training on the landing strip.

"Well, well, well...I didn't think you'd come." An amused voice said. The two looked up and smiled brightly when they saw Natasha Romanoff, a old comrade and friend walking towards them with a smirk. She didn't look much different, her hair was shorter but that was about it. Natasha however saw many differences in the two; they didn't hold themselves as confidently as they used to and they looked exhausted. Really exhausted.

Scarlett shrugged before Todd jumped onto her shoulder. "If Clint's in danger, we want to help. Even if it means coming back here." she said, rubbing her arms slightly as she looked around, becoming overwhelmed slightly by all the memories. "Does Laura know?" she whispered. Natasha sighed and shook her head as she rubbed Scarlett's arm a little before looking over her shoulder at Phil as he left the jet with Steve.

"Agent Romanoff." he greeted before nodding to Steve. "Captain Rogers." Natasha practically dragged Scarlett over and nodded to Steve in acknowledgment.

"Ma'am." Steve greeted and Natasha replied with a simple, 'Hi.' before looking back at Phil. "They need you on the Bridge. They're starting the face-trace. Scarlett, Todd, Fury wants you to go with him." she told them. Scarlett and Todd looked at each other before Todd nudged his head against hers comfortingly.

"See you there." Phil said before smiling at Scarlett and Todd. "Shall we go?"

Scarlett and Todd nodded before looking at Steve and smiling a little before following Phil who kept giving them side glances. "We're fine, Phil. You don't need to worry." said Todd, his head tucked into Scarlett's neck as his body was draped across her shoulders.

Phil sighed, giving some people stern looks when they stared at Scarlett and Todd in shock. "I know...I just worry. You haven't been here in a long time, and I know you're overwhelmed by it all. You're not as good at hiding your feelings as you used to be." he stated. Scarlett instantly scolded herself internally and cleared her face of any emotion and her posture became stiff.

"That's because we don't need to hide our emotions anymore. We aren't killing people every other day." she replied, bitterness in her voice as she walked. Phil shook his head, hating that she'd gone cold again.

"Listen," he started as he grabbed her arm before they entered the Bridge. I know that what you had to do wasn't right or fair. But you would've been killed if you didn't." he said lowly.

Scarlett glared down at his hand and then into his eyes before ripping her arm from his grasp, becoming increasingly irritated by the looks and the whispers and the reminders of everything both she and Todd had done. "Believe me, Phil, after everything we've seen and done...Death would've been so much better." She stormed onto the bridge, snarling at the guards who tried to stop her making them step back a little.

Maria Hill, who was stood at her own podium, looked at Scarlett and Todd with wide eyes when they entered and quickly made her way over to them and pulled them into a hug, not caring that everyone could see. "Scarlett...Todd...I'm so glad you're okay. How have you been?" she asked, looking straight into their eyes as she cupped Scarlett's cheek and stroked Todd's fur.

The two of them gaped at her a little; she'd never been so forward or even so caring towards them before and yet here she was, hugging them like a mother would hug their child. "We're, uh...We're good, I guess." she said, shrugging. Maria smiles a little and stroked her hair before pulling away and looking over her shoulder. Of course, Scarlett and Todd had already sensed him before they saw him.

"Director Fury." they both said in tight voices.

Fury chuckled from behind them and nodded as they turned around, his hands behind his back. Now Fury definitely didn't look any different; he was still the intimidating man he'd been when they'd left. With the same black trench coat and eyepatch. He was still Fury. "I see you decided to come." he commented.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes while Todd sat up on her shoulder and gave him a cold look. "And we see that you decided to keep playing around with that Cube." he said monotonously which made Fury roll his eye.

"You know that we thought the Cube held the key to unlimited energy."

"And we told you that it was stupid to mess around with something you didn't understand! Now look what's happened; Barton's been compromised and you are literally facing one of the biggest threats to our planet ever!" Scarlett exclaimed, gaining the attention of some of the other agents.

Fury looked at them sternly but he no longer had any power over them so they stared right back, anger and frustration in their eyes. "That's exactly why we called you in. You can trace the Cube and get it back to us before Loki can do anything with it." Fury told them, trying to get them to calm down a little.

"We'll find the Cube but once we have, we're gone." Scarlett said before storming over to the table that was situated on the higher platform on the Bridge. She sat down and Todd jumped onto the table, they both felt the Hellicarrier lift up but paid no mind to it and the two surveyed the room, ignoring the looks they were getting from the Agents. They weren't sat down for five minutes before Natasha walked in with Steve and some skittish and disheveled looking man with a purple shirt on who was looking around nervously. But they both instantly recognised him as Bruce Banner, the man who was also known as The Hulk.

Natasha saw them and walked over, grinning slightly. "Judging by the look on your faces, you'll already had a snap at Fury." she laughed. Scarlett rolled her eyes while Todd nodded smugly.

"Yes we have and we'll probably snap a bit more." he told her making her laugh and ruffle his fur.

"I've missed having you guys around!" She poked Scarlett's cheek making her grin and swat her hand away before watching Natasha walk over to an Agent and looked at their screen.

"Um, excuse me...Who are you?" Bruce Banner asked, looking at Scarlett in confusion. She smiled and held her hand out to shake his hand.

"I'm Scarlett, this is Todd. We're here to track the Cube." she introduced as he shook her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you Dr. Banner. I'm a big fan of your work."

Bruce looked at her, trying to figure out how old she was and how exactly she was supposed to track the Cube with a fox. "Gentlemen." Fury greeted once he'd made the Hellicarrier disappear from view.

Steve walked up to him and handed him $10. "A talking fox and a teenage girl? A definite surprise to me." he said, still not comfortable or understanding of the situation.

Fury looked at him before pocketing the money and walking over to Bruce. "Doctor, thank you for coming." he said, holding his hand out to shake.

Bruce was hesitant but took his hand, still looking around nervously. "Thank you for asking nicely. So, um, how long am I staying?" he asked.

Fury gave him a reassuring look. "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind."

Nodding, Bruce looked around the room and Scarlett cut into the conversation. "And how's that going exactly?" she asked.

Fury looked at her briefly before gesturing to Phil who was on the lower platform and folded his arms. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones...Laptops...If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us." he told them.

Scarlett walked to the railings with the others and Todd by her side. She leant against them and shook her head slightly. "It's still not gonna find them in time." Natasha cut in, crouching by a screen. Todd and Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"You need to narrow down your search." said Todd causing Bruce to look at him with wide eyes. "How many cellphones and laptops do you think there are in the world? He could be anywhere. Do you have a scent of the Cube? If you do, Scarlett and I can figure out the general direction of the Cube's whereabouts. We can't do much now that we're over sea but we can point you in the right direction."

Bruce blinked a few times before coming out of his initial shock. "If that works, we could focus on one specific area." He took his jacket off and looked at Fury. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?" he asked.

Fury folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for Gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places." Bruce then looked over at the two companions. "But if Scarlett and - Todd can manage to get a direction on where the Cube could be, we can narrow it even more." Scarlett and Todd nodded, agreeing making Bruce smile a little before he looked back at Fury. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

Fury nodded. "Agent Romanoff," he called. Natasha stood and made her way over. "could you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory please?"

"You're gonna love it, Doc." Natasha said as she walked past Bruce, leading him out the room. "We got all the toys."

Fury then turned to look at Scarlett and Todd who were surveying some of the screens. "We will send somebody to get a sample of the Tesseract so you can trace it. However, we also need you to help us do something else..." he trailed off.

The two turned to look at him and Scarlett folded her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is it that you need?" she inquired.

"If we manage to trace Loki, we want you and Captain Rogers to be the ones to apprehend him." he told him.

Steve whipped his head towards them and frowned. "Director, are you sure that's wise? They're just kids!" he said. Fury kept looking at the two companions who were growing more and more irritated by the doubt they were receiving.

"I have faith that they will be fine." he said making their eyes brighten a little. "So will you help?"

The two were silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But we cant promise that he'll come to you without a few bruises and cuts." Todd said, his tail flicking.

Fury chuckled and nodded before walking away. "That's what I like to hear!" he said.

Over the next few hours, Scarlett and Todd were given a sample of the Tesseract and managed to get a slight scent in the North East area which was where the Hellicarrier was now currently headed. It also helped Bruce narrow down his searches. In the meantime, both Scarlett and Todd were walking around the Bridge, checking all the monitors for any kind of match to Loki or Clint. It was strange and slightly worrying that they were starting to feel more at home and comfortable on the Hellicarrier and were actually feeling a little excited about it all. They knew this wasn't good as they would probably become attached again, and it was harder leaving the first time. So instead of focusing on their childish feelings, they focused on the task at hand; Finding Loki and Clint.

Though, when they saw Loki's picture, there was something about him. They both seemed to recognise him, they just didn't know how or where from as they doubted that they'd ever met the guy before, even in New York. They eventually gave up trying to figure out where they knew him from and instead started thinking over all the knowledge they had already about the Tesseract and Loki.

"Maybe the Tesseract comes from where he's from?" Todd guessed as they sat at the table once again, Scarlett's legs up on the chair and Todd padding around the table. "I mean, they said that he came through the portal that the Tesseract made, right? From another world? Maybe he could only do that because it's from his home work or whatever."

Scarlett pursed her lips and nodded at his theory. "That's true. But didn't Selvig say he was Thor's brother before Loki went all psycho and killed people. Wouldn't there be knowledge of the Tesseract with Thor if he was?" she asked.

Todd huffed and laid down on the table, his nose twitching as he thought. "Geez, this sucks. Having so little information is ruining my brain here!"

Scarlett was about to reply when one of the agents spoke up. "We got a hit! A 67% match!" he announced. Scarlett stood abruptly while Todd sat up and they both listened intently. "Wait. Cross match, 79%."

Phil walked over to the Agent and looked at his screen. "Location?" he asked.

The Agent checked before replying, "Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Königstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." he told him.

Scarlett and Todd grinned at eat other while Phil looked over to them. "Germany. North East. You were right." he said, nodding proudly with a smile.

Fury then spoke gaining everyones attention. "Captain, Scarlett, Todd..." They all looked at him. "You're up." He then looked at Scarlett with a slight smirk. "I think that you'll find your uniform where its always been."

Grinning, Scarlett nodded and both she and Todd left the Bridge to suit up.


	4. Chapter 4

The journey to Germany was tense. Scott would ask Natasha a few questions here and there but that was about it. Scarlett and Todd sat towards the back as they prepared themselves for whatever they were about to walk into. They had seen a lot of things during their time at SHIELD, so nothing could surprise them, but they'd been out of action for a while and they didn't know what Loki was capable of or whether their own abilities would match up to his. He was the Brother of Thor, a God. Despite the incredible things they could do, they were not Gods and they didn't know if they could protect themselves and others from the power of one. It was a risky situation but they knew they had to do it, for Clint more than anything. This guy had their friend and he was a threat to the entire earth, no matter how much they hated what they'd become, they would do anything to protect the ones who they cared about, even if it meant becoming the monsters they had so desperately tried to contain.

"We aren't going to kill him, that isn't the mission." Steve said cautiously as he watched Scarlett sharpen her blade while Todd laid next to her, his tail flicking constantly as he focused only on the mission at hand.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow as she paused and looked at the soldier, donned in his red, white and blue suit, his shield beside him, ready to be grabbed at any moment and his helmet already perched upon his head so he was ready to battle anything at any moment. She laughed lightly and sighed as she went back to sharpening her blade. "I'm not trying to. I'm trying to make sure I can cause as much pain as possible for that bastard without causing his death. Besides, I'm sure he would survive. It'll only be a few scratches."

"That's..." Steve looked at her in confusion. "That's not very ladylike."

Scarlett snorted and shook her head as she stood up and put her blade away when she sensed that they were getting closer. "Do I look like a lady to you?"

She stood, waiting for them to arrive as she stared forward out of the window of the cockpit, her expression becoming blank as she told herself to stay focused, no matter what happened. Steve was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the situation; he could tell that this girl had abilities, that much was obvious but she was a girl. A child. She wasn't supposed to be on missions for SHIELD or killing people and she definitely shouldn't have the responsibility of the earth's protection on her shoulders. He was sure that everyone could manage well enough without her there and he planned to end all of the nonsense as soon as they got back to the hellicarrier. The whole situation was too much responsibility for a child to carry, no matter what she was able to do.

"You might want to get going! He's got hostages!" Natasha called from the cockpit making Steve grab his shield and stand up while Todd sprung to life and approached the two while Scarlett opened the rear hatch, the city of Stuttgart brightly lit below them. The wind blew fiercely as they got closer to where Loki was keeping the hostages. Steve instantly jumped out and ran towards the area while Scarlett and Todd looked at each other before following Steve. They ran quickly and arrived just in time to see Steve protect an old man from being hit by some sort of blue force Loki had shot at him.

Seeing that Steve had Loki occupied for the moment, Scarlett and Todd moved slyly around the kneeling group and Todd made sure to put a shield around everyone so they were protected from Loki. "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else...We ended up disagreeing." Steve said, walking towards Loki who stood, staring at him in amusement as he laughed.

Scarlett tilted her head curiously as she gazed at his appearance; he definitely looked like a God in his green and gold armour. His aura was overwhelming and screamed power but she could also tell that whatever power he had was incredibly dangerous and in that moment, he looked like a predator about to get its first meal. He was hungry for his power and if he was willing to pose a threat to the earth, clearly he was willing to do anything in order to seize it.

"Loki...Drop the weapon and stand down." Natasha's voice boomed from the PA as the jet hovered and the guns all pointed towards Loki who chuckled to himself before shooting energy from his sceptre towards the jet. Steve launched his shield at Loki and the two began to fight while Todd and Scarlett tried to get the area clear in order for people to be safe. Todd transformed into a huge lion and roared to scare people away before he ran around to try and put up barriers to prevent people from coming close.

Scarlett looked towards the real problem and watched Loki hit Steve before holding his sceptre against his head and sneering, "Kneel."

Knowing she needed to step in, Scarlett ran over and kicked Loki away before she held up her hands and created a protective field around herself when he shot energy at her before her eyes flashed and she ran towards him, hitting him in the side before she jumped up and kicked him around the face making him stumble back and growl. She ducked as he swung his sceptre towards her but she gripped onto it and made her hands heat up with fire and smirked as it started to spread through the sceptre and burn Loki's hands causing him to shout out and let go as he looked at her in horror. She swung the sceptre around and pointed it at Loki, a dark expression on her face as she finally locked eyes with him but her vision started to become blurry and a shooting pain went through her head making her fall to her knees.

**A girl laughed brightly as she danced around the large, golden ballroom. Her green dress, made of the finest material, swirled and made her appear as though she were floating as she turned and swayed on the dance floor, a man always there to catch her hand as she was spun out of another's arms. She moved gracefully and those in attendance of the ball couldn't help but glance her way. She had only just come of age and she was one of the most sought after in the kingdom; her beauty, position and carefree nature attracting men from all corners of the realm. Her raven black hair was long and cascaded down her back, swaying effortlessly as she moved. Her skin was fair and appeared soft to touch, a light blush upon her cheeks with a smile that men found enticing. Her violet eyes had a constant gleam of mischief and were the most alluring of her appearance.**

**Smiling brightly as she was twirled by her current dance partner, she sighed happily as she never wanted to stop as she clapped along with all the other people dancing as she moved with the music and did the same graceful steps as the women before they once again switched partners. She moved into the arms of a tall man, his large hands gripping her waist as he lifted her while gazing at her deeply, the corners of his mouth turning into a sly smile as he danced with her.**

**"Your Majesty." she greeted, her smile growing as she curtsied, a flirtatious look in her eyes making the man chuckle.**

**"Scarlett." He pulled her close to him once again and danced around the ballroom with her before leaning his head down slightly to whisper in her ear. "I apologise. I wasn't able to tell you how exquisite you look earlier. Did you wear that dress just to tempt me?"**

**Looking up at him, Scarlett placed one hand on his bicep as he held the other and laughed softly. "You think I wore this for you, Your Majesty? And what would give you that impression?" she asked playfully causing him to growl and grip her waist tighter as he spoke deeply into her ear, his deep voice sending a shiver down her spine.**

**"Because you are mine. In every way."**

**Nibbling her lip as she squeezed his arm, Scarlett sighed and rested her head against his chest before she gazed up at him once again. "You know that we cannot be together fully, Loki...Your Father will not even allow us to marry."**

**Gritting his teeth in frustration, Loki looked at her with a fire in his eyes as he pressed his forehead to hers, not caring about who looked as he held her close to him, his grip like steel. "I will find a way. I will persuade him, show him that you are the only one who I could possibly want. Do not worry yourself, my darling. We will be together."**

"Scarlett..." Loki whispered, his eyes wide as he looked at the young girl, unable to believe that she was actually there. When she came back to reality, Scarlett frowned and stood up before instantly swinging the sceptre towards him and shouting out when he gripped onto it and spun her easily, pulling her against his chest while holding the sceptre against her throat. "Stop this!"

Her eyes slowly turning black, Scarlett gritted her teeth before grabbing her blade and stabbing him in the side before she moved out of his grasp and kicked him back. Before she could do any more damage, a blast came from behind her and hit Loki in the chest making him fall back and groan. Panting, Scarlett looked behind her and her eyes grew wide seeing Iron Man point his blasters at Loki who was staring at Todd with wide eyes as he circled him in wolf form.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games." The voice of Tony Stark came from the suit and Scarlett swallowed deeply and ran her fingers through her hair as she felt shaken up by what had happened and simply watched as Loki put his hands up, his armour disappearing leaving him in only his robes. "Good move."

Steve and Tony greeted each other while Scarlett told herself to focus as she walked over to Loki and pulled him up before she waved her hands over his making handcuffs lock onto his wrists before she shoved him towards the jet that was landing. Todd growled viciously as he walked beside Loki, watching him carefully in case he did something before Scarlett sat him down and walked away from him and rubbed her head.

"Thanks." Steve said as he stood beside her when he got onboard with Tony who's face was now visible with his mask off. "That was a brave thing you did."

"Hold on...I know you. You were the kid on the roof!" Tony said, walking up to her making her look up at him and tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Why are you here?"

"The same reason why you're here." Todd said as he shook his fur and turned back into a fox while sitting across from Loki, his eyes still dark as he made sure to constantly be alert while Loki was looking between him and Scarlett in utter disbelief.

"What the hell is going on? Did that fox just talk?" Tony exclaimed as he looked between everyone. "Can someone explain this to me?"

"We're ex SHIELD agents and we've been called in to find the cube." Scarlett told him. He was her idol, there was no doubt but she couldn't even be excited that she was actually speaking to Tony Stark. Not with everything that had happened. The images were still stick in her mind; the ballroom, the dresses, the music. Him. She didn't understand any of it. She had never met this man in her life and yet she had these memories that seemed so familiar to her and he seemed to recognise her. He knew her name, he was there in her memories and he was there now, staring at her with pain and confusion in his eyes.

She ignored Tony's questioning and went to sit at the back of the jet to collect her thoughts as it took off to get back to the hellicarrier. She put her head in her hands and tried to compose her thoughts and at least forget about what had happened until Loki was locked up, SHIELD was once again in possession of the cube and Clint was found. She couldn't let him get into her head, she wouldn't allow herself to be compromised, not when there were so many people who needed her help. Regardless of what the strange vision was or what it meant, Loki was the bad guy and she was the one who was supposed to stop him and save the world. That was her role and she was going to stick to the script. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Tony and Steve kept staring at her before they turned their focus onto Loki who was still watching Scarlett making the two men frown. "I don't like it." Steve said, pursing his lips as he turned his back to Loki and looked at Tony.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily? Or the fact that he's looking at the kid like she's a pretty princess?" Tony muttered, keeping his eyes on Loki as he sighed, a million questions running through his mind about the whole situation and planned to interrogate the kid and her fox as soon as they were off the jet.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop. And honestly...I don't understand why she's here so whatever look he's giving her is making me more anxious." Steve replied, glancing back to Loki and then at Scarlett who was staring at the ceiling, her legs stretched out as she was in a world of her own.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Steve who was giving him an incredulous look, no idea what he was talking about.

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Tony shrugged, looking between Steve, Loki and Scarlett constantly before giving Todd an uncomfortable look when he snorted.

Clenching his jaw, Steve stared at Tony for a few moments, his expression becoming hard as he spoke tightly. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah." Tony said, his voice becoming monotone. "There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you. Like how he hired a kid and her pet to save the world. Tiny little detail he forgot to mention, obviously."

Thunder started to rumble as lightning struck around the jet making everyone instantly become more aware. Scarlett frowned and glanced at Todd who's fur started to stand up, instantly knowing something was wrong as she moved towards him as he transformed into a large wolf to guard Loki who leant forward, looking just as worried as Scarlett and Todd were.

"What's the matter?" Steve called to him. "Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki replied making Steve and Tony glance at each other while Scarlett and Todd started to become more on edge. Todd paced in front of Loki while Scarlett rubbed her hands together anxiously, not liking the uncertainty of what was coming. She was about to tell Steve and Tony to stay alert before the jet jolted as something landed on top making her eyes narrow as she allowed her hands to become static with electricity as shocks surrounded her hands as she prepared herself for whatever was coming.

Tony walked up to the rear hatch and opened it after putting his helmet on making Scarlett shake her head. "Don't!" Everyone's eyes widened when a blond man landed on the plane, his muscles bulging and his attire definitely not that of Earth. He was clearly from the same place as Loki and he didn't look happy. Scarlett instantly recognised him as Thor as Tony started his thrusters to defend the jet but Thor hit him with his hammer making him fly back. Todd snarled and pounced at him but he was also hit with the hammer making him yelp and hit the wall, Scarlett shouting out his name. Thor grabbed Loki by the throat before jumping off the jet and disappearing into the clouds.

Todd got up and growled as he shook his fur. He looked at Scarlett who nodded and didn't even speak to the others before they both ran down the hatch and jumped from the jet, the two of them transforming into birds as they went after Thor and Loki.

* * *

"I thought you dead." Thor said, gripping the back of Loki's neck as he looked at him, wishing he would stop his hateful actions.

"Did you mourn?" Loki asked, his eyes softer as he gazed at Thor.

"We all did. Our Father-"

"Your Father." Loki interrupted, fury filling him once more as he remembered all the man had done. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" He shoved Thor away from him before rubbing his back as he stumbled away.

"We were raised together. We played together. Fought together." Thor said, following after him, trying to get him to see sense. "Do you remember none of that?"

"I remember a shadow." Loki told him, turning to look at him as he clenched his fists. "Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss after letting Scarlett die! I, who was, and should be king with her by my side!"

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor shot back, his patience for him becoming thinner and thinner.

"Imagined slights?" Loki yelled, his eyes lighting up with fire as he stormed towards him. "I loved her! She was the only true and pure thing in my life and you let her die! She was the only light I had in your shadow!"

Thor stopped, the pain of his friend's death coming back to him as he looked down, knowing Scarlett's death fuelled Loki's revenge more than anything else. "I will never forgive myself for what happened, Loki! I know the love you had for her. But the earth us under my protection!"

Loki laughed bitterly and shook his head. "And you're doing a marvellous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret! I mean to rule them, as why should I not?"

"You think yourself above them?"

"Well, yes." Loki said plainly.

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, Brother. The throne would suit you ill. Scarlett would not have wanted you to be this way." Thor said, looking at him with pity as he stepped forward.

"Don't tell me what she would have wanted." Loki hissed as he shoved his way passed him, becoming more and more angry with every mention of Scarlett, knowing she wasn't far away but she was no longer the woman he had loved. She looked like she did when she was young, as did Todd...but they didn't recognise him. They only looked at him with a hatred he had never seen from him before and it pained him. "I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odin's son, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it-"

"Who showed you this power?" Thor questioned, becoming more and more worried for his Brother as he rambled about the power he could have. "Who controls the would-be-king?"

"I am a king!" Loki yelled furiously.

"Not here!" Thor shouted, losing his temper as he gripped Loki's arms. "You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home."

Loki stared at him, his body shaking slightly as he laughed sadly and shook his head. "I don't have it. You need the cube to bring me home. But I've sent it off I know not where."

"You listen well, Brother." Thor warned, pointing his hammer at Loki before he was hit by something large making him fall back and gape at the lion in front of him, instantly recognising it's eyes. "Todd?"

Before any reply could be given, something else smashed into Thor and dragged him away. Scarlett, who landed beside Todd, saw the thrusters and instantly knew that it was Tony before she transformed back into her human form and looked at Loki for the first time since apprehending him, seeing him giving her the same look as he did before. "What happened to you, Scarlett?"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, easily putting handcuffs back on Loki while Todd put a protective shield around him to prevent him from going anywhere or doing anything. "Nothing. I don't know you." she hissed before turning with Todd to watch Tony and Thor fight below.

"You do, Darling...Please try to remember." he whispered, refusing to believe that she was anyone but the Scarlett he knew. Something had clearly happened to her but she was the same person, he was sure of it.

"Don't call me that! I'm not whoever you think I am and I'm definitely not your Darling! Whatever memories you tried to put into my head aren't real! I won't let you do to me what you've done to Barton!" she snapped, clenching her fists as she glared at Loki through the force field.

"Speaking of, where is Clint? And where is the Tesseract?" Todd asked, starting to become curious as to how Loki thought he knew Scarlett.

"I know not. You have my word. Trust my word, Todd." Loki said, looking down at the fox, hoping he would at least remember him in some way but sighed seeing no recognition in his eyes.

"Why would I trust anything you say? You're a war criminal and believe me, if I could rip you apart for what you've done, I would enjoy every second." Todd snarled, his fur standing up as he felt himself becoming overcome with fury. "As soon as this is over, you'll pay for every single person you've killed."

Loki looked between the two of them before he laughed bitterly, hating the world even more for what they'd done to Scarlett and Todd. "So you were the ones that Barton was talking about. The hidden assassins. It seems as though you've killed more people than I have. And you speak of me paying for those who have been killed by my hand? What about the blood on your conscience, Todd? Will anyone avenge those you have slaughtered?"

Todd started to shake as he snarled viciously at Loki's words making the man watch him curiously as the fox's body started to morph while Scarlett kept telling him to calm down. His body began to grow, his fur disappearing as scales and curved spikes grew on his back. His eyes darkened until they were pitch black and his teeth grew into rows of fangs, his tail elongating with sharp spikes growing from it. He was turning into a creature that he had never seen before and his eyes glimmered, his love for the two of them leaving him for a moment as a plan began to formulate in his mind as he watched Todd become the monster that he had so desperately needed. He looked at Scarlett and smirked, remembering Barton speaking of the monsters they would become when their temper became too heightened.

"Todd! Calm down, please!" Scarlett begged, panic filling her as she knew that Todd was allowing his anger to get the better of him. He was changing rapidly and he knew that he would end up tearing Loki apart making her think about anything she could do before she focused her mind and made sure that the shield around Loki stayed intact before she shot a fireball at Todd, taking his attention away from Loki before she transformed into a Panther and looked at her friend desperately but knew she had to do all she could to bring him back to reality. She pounced at him making the two roll down the cliff, clawing and snarling at each other as Scarlett kept trying to hit his head against the rocks to knock him out of it before she saw his eyes starting to become lighter. She transformed back into a human and grabbed onto him as she skidded to a stop and slammed him against the side of the cliff while breathing heavily as she saw Todd looking at her with wide eyes, back to his normal form.

"W-What did I do?" Todd stuttered, trying to figure out what had happened. "Scarlett! What did I do?"

She let go of him and trembled as she looked down at her hands, her nails longer and sharper as her hands had slowly become scaled making her shake her head and breathe heavily. "You lost control...It happened again." she whispered, running her fingers through her hair constantly to try and focus and turn back to normal.

Todd sighed, feeling angry at him for letting himself become easily angered as he walked over to Scarlett and jumped on her shoulders, resting his head against hers. "I'm sorry..."

Scarlett looked down at her shaking hands and bit her lip hard seeing that they'd returned back to normal before she stroked his head. "It's okay...Loki seems to have a way to get into our heads...We need to make sure it doesn't happen again. We could become a bigger problem and I can't let that happen."

"It won't...We just won't involve ourselves. We'll focus on finding the cube and then we can leave once we do. We'll let everyone else deal with Loki." Todd muttered before looking up the cliff and nudging his head against Scarlett's. "But for now, we need to keep an eye on him before someone else can take him off our hands."

Nodding in agreement, Scarlett started to make her way back up the cliff as she rubbed her hands together and sighed, knowing she needed a decent nights sleep to refocus herself as she was definitely out of touch with her old self and she needed to bring that back, no matter how ruthless she had to be in order to do it.


End file.
